Normal
by DarkandtwistyGirl
Summary: AU. Sam Winchester is a hunter, but he's managed to have a life with some degree of normality too, not just normality, success, that is until his brother returns after twenty years. Sick!Dean
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or the characters. This is just for fun.**_

_**Hi folks, here's something a bit different for you. Basically this fic is along the lines of the canon story, the Winchester family have been hunting since the boys were children, Sam left his family to go to college, but Dean never came to get him, and Jess didn't die. Sam has had no contact with his family since leaving for college, twenty years ago. And there's none of the show's angels and demons storylines.**_

_**Please let me know what you think!**_

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

It was just another day at the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse; dozens of cases were to be heard that day.

Assistant district attorney, Samuel Winchester had to be in court in just minutes to prosecute a vicious attack on a young woman, a woman who still lay in a hospital bed nearly two weeks since the attack, struggling to get back to her life.

Samuel was speaking to the detectives who'd investigated the case, when a man came up to him, someone he hadn't seen in a very long time; his older brother, Dean. Sam was quick to excuse himself from his conversation with the detectives, if his brother's appearance was anything to go by there was probably at least one warrant out for his arrest, a courthouse was dangerous place for someone like Dean at the best of times, this didn't appear to be the best of times.

Wordlessly Samuel grabbed the back of Dean's worn leather jacket, and he quite literally dragged him out of the courthouse, making a scene, but avoiding the scene he knew would come when they started talking.

It was quite something for the crowds in the halls of the courthouse to see, Samuel, dressed in his thousand dollar Hugo Boss suit, dragging this quite dishevelled man out by his collar, cursing under his breath at the man as they went. Several of the court officers offered to escort Dean out themselves, saving the ADA the trouble, little did they know that the man was ADA Winchester's own brother.

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><p>Once they were outside, and around the corner, Dean pulled loose from Sam's grasp. "Get off of me dude, come on."<p>

"What the hell are you doing here, Dean?" Sam demanded; he'd worked very hard to get everything he had, and Dean's presence risked all of it. "And why do you smell like a toilet?"

"Better question, how come you're dressed up like Richie Rich?" Dean quipped.

"I have a job, Dean. I'm meant to be inside right now prosecuting a bastard who raped five women before the cops tracked him down."

Dean didn't mince his words, "Dad's dead. I got a call a couple of weeks ago he was working a job, needed help, the hunt went south."

"Aw shit," Sam groaned, running his fingers through his hair. Still this didn't change anything. "Look Dean, I've got to go back inside. Do me a favour," Sam pulled out his wallet, offering Dean a fifty, he said, "There's a restaurant across the road, grab yourself something to eat, and wait until I'm done, then we'll talk."

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><p>To be honest Sam was surprised to see that when he got out of court seven hours later, his brother was still waiting for him at the restaurant.<p>

Sam loosened his tie as he headed over to the booth where his older brother sat. He was tired, but if Dean had waited this long he deserved to be heard out.

"It's about time," Dean said frustrated.

"It's been a long time Dean, I know you said that Dad died, but our line of work... it happens. Why'd you come here after all this time?"

Dean hesitated, but after a moment he told Sam, "I'm sick Sammy."

"What? What kind of sick, Dean?" Sam was immediately concerned.

"A few months back I was working this job, long story short, I collapsed, someone called 911. It turns out I picked up an infection somewhere along the line, my liver's shot."

"Aw man, I'm sorry Dean. Is there anything they can do?"

"I need a transplant... They said that a donor in the family's my best chance."

Sam sighed, he'd do anything for his brother, but this was coming as a massive shock. "How about you come home with me, my wife should have dinner ready, we can make up the spare bed?"

Dean shrugged, "Yeah, sure. It's gotta beat the motel."

"I've got to ask you, Dean. How'd you find me here? It's been what, twenty years since we last spoke?"

It hadn't been easy, Dean had lost track of Sam for many years, since he graduated from Stanford, and moved away, but where there's a will...

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><p>After their conversation, Sam gave Dean the address of his family home, and agreed to meet him there. Samuel drove his sleek, black Z-series BMW roadster fast at the best of times, that night though he got home faster than he usually would have, keen to get home before Dean arrived; Jess and the kids were well accustomed to hunters coming and going, but this was one introduction that Sam wanted to make properly.<p>

Samuel had done very well for himself, and the home that he shared with his wife, Jessica was a reflection of that. The home, in Oak Park was a beautiful five bedroom home on a seventeen thousand square foot block.

The gardens were perfectly manicured, and the interior was pristine, right down to the smallest detail; the four person housekeeping staff was to thank for that.

And his family was a gift that Samuel thanked god for each and every day; his wife Jessica Moore, and their three children, nine year old Chris, seven year old Mary, and four year old Phoebe.

Dean smiled appreciatively as he pulled up to see his Sammy leaning against the beautiful beast of automotive engineering that was the roadster. Dean gently rolled the Impala into the driveway, alongside Sam's car, he cut the engine, and stepped out.

Whistling in appreciation, Dean said, "This is nice, Sammy. Very nice. A little Stepford Wives, but nice."

Sam smiled in response. "Wait 'til you've seen inside, man."

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><p>Samuel wasn't lying, Dean was impressed as he followed his younger brother into the home. Dean could hear someone in the kitchen, and the sounds of children playing echoed through to the entrance hall.<p>

"Jess, I'm home," Sam called out as he pushed the front door closed, "I've got someone with me."

Dean was surprised at how fast Jessica appeared, he would find out later that there was a reason behind this.

Sam was quick to make the albeit awkward introductions, "Dean, this is my wife Jessica. Jess, this is my brother Dean."

Jess paused, surprised, "Wait, Dean as in... Wow, it's good to meet you. Sam's told me a lot about you."

"All good things, I hope," Dean replied smoothly.

Jessica's face lit up in a smile. She then made a sweeping motion as she said, "Come on in, Dean. I've got to get on with dinner, but I'm sure Sam won't mind giving you the grand tour. We'll be eating in about ten minutes." Jess turned to her husband of eighteen years, and said, "Make sure to introduce him to the kids properly, they'll love to meet their uncle."

Dean noticed a few things that seemed more than a little out of place in the elegant home, Latin texts in the library, newspaper clippings of strange accidents and bizarre deaths scattered amongst papers in the study, weapons tucked in out of the way places. It prompted him to ask, "Are you still hunting, Sam?"

Samuel stopped in his tracks, he turned as he replied, "Never stopped. You and Dad, you thought I was turning my back on it all, on you, but I kept hunting, and I have always been listening for any news on how you and Dad were."

Dean couldn't help but feel joy when Sam ended the tour in the children's playroom, it had every toy that a child could dream of, and in the middle of the room sat three young children, a boy and two girls.

Samuel went over to the kids, leaving Dean in the doorway. "Hey kids," Sam greeted his children.

Seven year old, Mary was quick to produce the drawing that she'd been doing when her father entered the room. "I drew you a picture, Daddy." She waited for Sam to accept the paper, before standing, and embracing her father as tightly as she was able.

Sam gently hugged Mary, as he was also being greeted by his other two children.

Then nine year old, Chris noticed Dean standing in the doorway, "Who's that, Dad?"

Sam wrapped his free arm around Chris' shoulders, his fingertips just touching young Phoebe's dark brown curls. "This is my brother, Dean. He's going to be staying here with us for awhile. Say hello guys," Sam nudged them.

Chris was the eldest, he quite confident for his age, and without any further encouragement he went over to Dean, "Hi."

"Dean, this is Christopher," Sam told his brother, "That's Mary, and the little one is Phoebe."

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><p>Soon enough they were called for dinner, and after dinner Sam and Jess had to go get the kids into bed, only once all three children were sound asleep in bed, did the adults pull out a couple of beers and a glass of wine, and head into the lounge to talk.<p>

"So what've you been up to all these years, Dean?" Jessica asked, keen to clear the air, and relax.

Dean remembered that Sam had mentioned that Jess knew about hunting, so he felt safe to discuss it, "Just the usual, knocking around, going from job to job. Last month I had this gig, worse damn poltergeist I've seen, thing tore up half a town before I axed it."

Jess responded appreciatively, "What a mess." She then gently asked, "Sam said that your father passed away recently. I'm very sorry."

"You didn't sick that wendigo on him," Dean replied shortly, before turning the attention to his brother and sister-in-law, "So what's your story? How'd you guys meet? What do you do for a living?"

Jess smiled, taking Sam's hand as she told Dean, "We met in college, got married a couple of weeks before Sam started law school, I was about to start my residency. I'm an attending now, over at the University of Chicago Medical Center in the emergency department. We moved here after we both finished studying, Chris came along three years later, we couldn't really be happier."

Sam knew that there was a question Dean was keen to ask, but never would. "I told Jess about hunting a few months after our wedding-"

"I was so freaked out, but Sam, he just made me feel like it would be okay. Eighteen years later, we're still going so I guess he was right," Jess added.

"Back in the day I took a lot more hunts than I do now. These days I mostly just do the research, then hand it on to some other hunters I know. Jess, well she mostly stays clear of all of it."

"Mostly," Jess repeated, exchanging a knowing look with her husband. She then turned the conversation to the reason behind Dean's visit, "Sam told me that you're unwell. May I ask what is wrong?"

"Three, maybe four months back I ended up in hospital. They said that my liver was shot, hep B. They gave me a bunch of pills to take, those ran out a couple of months back, and said I needed to get a transplant."

Jess sighed, she'd dealt with plenty of hunters before, it didn't come as a surprise to hear that Dean wasn't managing his condition properly. "How long has it been since you saw a doctor, Dean?" Jessica asked, she was worried by Dean's evident condition.

"Not since I was in the ER."

Jessica and Sam exchanged a look. "Put down that drink, and come with me," Jess said as she stood up from her seat.

"What?" Dean was thrown.

Sam backed Jess up, "She's a doctor, Dean. Let her check you over."

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><p><em><strong>TBC... If you ask nicely.<strong>_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or the characters. This is just for fun.**_

_**Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed!**_

_**Enjoy**_

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

Eventually Dean conceded, and followed Jess and Sam through their home, he was surprised when they stopped at a door at the back of the basement.

"You don't have some kind of secret room down here where you kill your visitors, do you?" Dean joked.

Sam chuckled in response, he told Dean, "Secret room, yes. Killing visitors, no."

Jess took a key that she had hung around her neck, and opened the door as she elaborated, "Sam kept bringing home these guys who were beat to hell, they wouldn't go to the hospital, after a while I thought that it just made good sense to give you guys somewhere where you could get patched up, without involving the police. So, here we are. Hop up on the table, and I'll give you an exam."

Dean peered into the room, it was nothing like the dark, cluttered basement they stood in, it seemed to be all white, tiled and sterile, cupboards lined the walls, filled with medical supplies, a medical table was in the middle of the room, to one end of the room there was a freshly made up bed.

"It beats how Dad used to patch us up when we were kids, doesn't it?" Samuel said, giving Dean a gentle shove into the room. "On the bed, Dean."

"I'm going, I'm going," Dean said, trying to sound put upon.

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><p>Jessica was quick, but thorough in her exam. Dean had all the signs of fulminant liver failure, loss of appetite, body aches, mild fever, jaundice, and ascites.<p>

What worried Jess even more so was that Dean was showing signs of hepatorenal syndrome, he had signs that his blood wasn't clotting properly, his blood sugar was dangerously low, he had quite severe edema in his legs and face, his lungs were partially filled with fluid, and he was hypoxic.

Jess didn't mince her words, as she told Dean, "You need to be in a hospital, Dean. I don't even know how you managed to walk in here."

"It's that bad?" Sam questioned Jess, he was starting to feel bad that he'd left Dean waiting around for him all day.

"It is," Jess confirmed, she then told Dean, "You should be in the ICU right now. If you don't get treatment, you'll go into a coma in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours, your body is already starting to decompensate."

Sam wasn't going to watch his brother die, not now. In a tone that gave no room for argument, Samuel told Dean, "You're going, Dean."

"I only came here because I need the transplant, I don't need you taking care of me, Sammy."

"And first thing in the morning I'll come up to the hospital to get tested, but you need to go now, right Jess?"

"That's right," Jess confirmed. "Please Dean, let us help you. I'll take you, get you admitted as quick as I can, and stay until you are settled in."

"...Yeah, okay," Dean agreed, albeit reluctantly.

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><p>True to her word, Jessica stayed with Dean as she worked to get him admitted to the hospital. Samuel wished them luck as he slammed the passenger door of Jessica's Renault minivan closed, and reluctantly headed back inside. Sam would have gone to the hospital with Dean, but someone needed to be home for the kids, and frankly Jess would be able to get Dean in much faster than he could.<p>

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><p>Generally it was a quiet night in the emergency department of the medical center. Jess insisted on getting a wheelchair for Dean, fearing that he would collapse.<p>

Jessica waved to the triage nurse as she rushed Dean towards the door that lead through to the treatment area; the nurse opened the door for Jessica, and waited for her to push Dean through.

"Thanks Terri," Jess said, putting on her ID badge. "This is Dean, he's in fulminant hepatic failure, I suspect he has hepatorenal syndrome. He is hypotensive and hypoglycaemic. I'm worried about his coagulopathy, and his pulse ox was barely holding at sixty. I need to get him a bed in the ICU, and consults from hepatology, nephrology, intensive care, infectious disease, and general surgery."

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><p>Within the hour Jessica was standing by Dean's hospital bed, watching as doctors from the various specialities assessed Dean's condition. Dean had been in such an unstable condition that on admission he had not only been taken into the ICU, but also placed on both liver dialysis and haemodialysis to filter the toxins from his body, medications to stabilize his blood pressure, reduce the edema, as well as platelets to boost his blood's ability to clot. The intensive care team had drained the fluid accumulated in his lungs, and placed Dean on a mask delivering a high concentration of oxygen, hoping that his oxygen saturations would rebound, but it was becoming clear that it wasn't working.<p>

Jess joined the conversation with her fellow physicians briefly before moving into Dean's line of sight. "Dean," She began, Dean knew immediately that this was not going to be good news. "You aren't getting enough oxygen, we need to put you on a ventilator, that's where-"

Jessica was interrupted by Dean, who was quick to pull off the oxygen mask, and tell her, "I'm not going to be on a vent, no way, not again. I'll just take bigger breaths," Dean tried to use humour to cover his growing fear, Jess saw straight through it.

"It's alright, Dean. We'll give you a sedative, you won't feel a thing. And honestly I think that it would be good for you to get a real sleep, your body is at the end of its tether. That's what we're doing, supporting your body so that it can recoup its strength, and after you get a transplant, we'll bring you around, and you will feel much better."

"I've got to talk to Sammy, please," Dean was coming to see that he had lost control of his own body, but this was one thing that he needed before he was put on a ventilator. Dean knew all too well that he may never wake up if they put him on a ventilator now, this might be the last chance he had to set things right with Sam.

"I'll call him, just rest for now," Jess said softly, it only cemented in Dean's mind that he must be dying.

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><p>After calling Jessica's parents to mind the children, Sam headed to the hospital, he'd been to visit Jess in the emergency department when she had been on shift many times, but he had to ask for help in finding the ICU.<p>

Eventually Sam found his way upstairs to the intensive care unit, a nurse pointed him towards Dean's room.

As Sam saw Dean, lying in that bed, hooked up to seemingly every machine known to man, he was panicked. Jess had told him back at the house that Dean's condition with critical, but for a moment Sam wanted to slap Jess for doing this to his brother, he'd trusted her to care for his brother, and it was clear to Sam, seeing Dean, that his older brother was terrified.

"Sammy," Dean noticed his brother standing in the doorway.

Sam moved forward, going to his brother's side, "Hey Dean, you doing alright bro?"

Jess put her arm around Sam's shoulders, offering him comfort as she said, "We've stabilised him as best we can, but we really need to intubate, he isn't getting enough oxygen."

Sam sighed, it seemed that he had just gotten his brother back, now he could lose him.

"I'm going to give you guys a minute, okay?" Jess said, turning to leave.

"Thanks," Sam mumbled, he sat down in a chair by the bed. "So, Jess said you needed to see me."

"...Doesn't look like I'll make it out of this, Sam."

"Don't even think like that, you're going to be fine," Samuel tried to be reassuring, but even he knew that his words were bullshit.

"I'm sorry I never came looking for you. But for what it's worth little brother, you've done good."

Sam took Dean's hand, and being careful to avoid dislodging the multiple IV lines, he gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm going to go see the surgeon first thing in the morning, Jess can help me get through the red tape quicker. You remember West Texas, I think we'd been hunting a black dog, I got all torn up? The hospital was running low on blood, they had you donate blood for me, that must mean that we're a pretty good match, Dean. Just wait, you'll wake up in a couple of days, good as new. Besides," Sam tried to lighten the mood, "I think you've gotten the better half of this deal, you get all the good drugs, a nice long sleep, and half of a very fine liver." Sam paused, "I'll be here when you wake up, okay Dean? And we'll get you well, then we'll sort out everything else." Sam nodded to the medical team, indicating that Dean was ready to be put under.

"...You better not do anything that puts you in any kind of danger, Sammy. There's no way I can live knowing that I let you get messed up." Dean paused, he could feel that meds starting to pull him under, "You've done so good little brother, so good."

"You know what Chris asked me when I was putting him to bed... He wanted to know if you'd take him to a ball game, I'm always at work or... busy." As Sam finished speaking, he saw Dean's eyes drift closed, the doctor and nurses stepped in, and pushed him away so that they could work.

But as Samuel stepped away, he heard Dean murmur, "Your wife's hot, Sammy," and he couldn't help but laugh.

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><p><strong>TBC... <strong>

**Please drop a review. Feedback and CONSTRUCTIVE critism are always welcome.**


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